What’s a wallflower to do? Imogen is the merely pretty sister in a family of Incomparables. Resigning herself to fading into the background, the naturally shy debutante joins the ranks of the wallflowers, accepting her lot as the unmarriageable sister destined to be a comfort to her parents in their declining years.
Hurt by the cruel words of some gossips, Imogen flees into a darkened garden in tears one night and stumbles straight into the arms of Caleb, Marquis of Willbridge. There to meet a willing widow, Caleb’s heart is touched by Imogen’s obvious distress, and their pair begin an unlikely friendship. However, when others begin to take notice, Caleb must decide; will he court Imogen and seek to win her, or walk away before her reputation is ruined?
Of course, he does the right thing. And that’s when the story takes a big twist, because Imogen won’t have him. Stunned, Caleb can’t believe it; why would a wallflower turn down the catch of the season?
Imogen is a lovely heroine. Downtrodden and bullied by an absolutely horrendous mother, who won’t even allow her to wear her glasses in public lest she bring shame on the family, she nevertheless shows her backbone when pushed too far. She was a perfect match for Caleb, who has some seriously self-destructive tendencies due to a family tragedy in his past he still blames himself for. Caleb’s sister Lady Emily was definitely my favourite side character and I find myself desperately hoping she gets her own romance later in this series!
There were one or two anachronisms in the book - ‘gotten’ in a Regency romance always sets my teeth on edge, it’s an Americanism barely used in England even today - but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this clever, charming romance. 5 stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.